It's been awhile...

Hi out there...I forgive the lack of updates, but things have been pretty busy. How many times have you read THAT on someone's blog. Seems like life can get pretty whacked at times, and the more important things HAVE to be dealt with. That's where I've been. Let me give you a quick run-down of the events over the last few weeks...

--Sarah started kindergarten!! She loves it. My little 2 pound at birth premature in-NICU-for-her-first-month baby girl is REALLY growing up. UNREAL!!! She's doing fantastic.

--Michael Ryan is absolutely growing by leaps and bounds. He spent the first year of his life being pissed off for being here in the first place (or so I think) but now he's adapted VERY well into being the loud, boisterous and irresistably cute son of the loud, boistersous and irresistably loud dad!! Mom had a little to do with it too I guess.

--11 bands this season (yes Lee--ELEVEN!! Whacked!! Good money. But no brain cells.) But it went VERY well. Probably my best season to date. Even better than the year I wrote 16 shows for bands in 4 different states. THAT was a challenge. Anyway...I was pretty disciplined and organized and got things done. Major plans afoot to take the Ryan H. Turner Show Design Productions up a notch.

Or seven.

--Was named drill designer for Capital Sound in Madison, Wisconsin. Pretty incredible considering EVERYONE on staff is from "back there", and it was a surprise for me to get the call. I'm pretty dang stoked. My former visual caption friend from La Canada HS now lives out there and in a strange bit of fate, interviewed and got the Exec Director job for the corps. So--he told me. I was going to be the FIRST he would hire. Stuck to his word.

--Was promoted with So Cal Dream to Program Coordinator. Will keep writing drill but work closely with how the show is put together. I do have talent in this area, just not utilized. It's good that I'm still friends after all these years with one of the greatest genius minds in all of drum corps and winter guard, Mike McCool, and he's just a phone call/email away to help me make sure I'm doing the best I can.

--Waiting to hear about Impulse. Not sure what direction they're going with drill design. I may collaborate with Ron Z., but not sure. Ron Z. is very talented so there's really no need for me to be in the mix. It would just be nice to be in the mix. To mix it up.

--Work (the day job) is going well. What else can I say. It provides the main part of my income, I have my own office, new furniture, freedom, interact with LOTS of people, yet...something is missing. Still trying to figure THAT out.

--Judging for the SCSBOA. That was a major goal of mine that was finally realized. For some, or most, that's probably not that big of a deal. But I am an "outsider" intruding into the world that has normally been "band directors only". So--to be qualified, and then given 11 assignments for my rookie season has been an indication that I should probably be confident in how the PTB feel about me. I'm doing the best I can in this area. As a matter of fact, of these 11 shows, I consider 3 of them to be MAJOR tournaments--Vista, Mt. Carmel, and the Arcadia Festival of Bands. I have a feeling I'll be doing the SCSBOA Championships as well, but they won't tell anyone anything until the dust settles. I was just told to keep that day clear.

--Leaving for Nebraska tomorrow morning. EARLY. Judging the Nebraska Bandmasters Association State Championships. 31 bands. ARGH!!! I'm on a panel with Rob Jett (guard guru!), James Rocillo (horn guru--Ayala HS and SCV), Pete Weber (SCV drill designer), Matt Savage (my old drum guy and buddy from VK days)...looks to be exciting and a great panel. Weather...eh. Not so great. Probably about 50 degrees for a high, breezy, cloudy...cold. I'll be doing Visual Ensemble Analysis.

--Speaking of Ensemble Analysis, I attended my first of 3 WGASC judge's training sessions as I embark on the final part of pageantry arts goals. I'm looking to be a well-rounded adjudicator in multi-disciplines and multiple captions. There's actually a goal behind this that I should expand on a bit because even though many friends and co-workers (HI MY OCFA-ITES!!!) consider me a band geek (thusly equating what I do to nothing really important), it is to me and I take it seriously (when I need to and when I'm not pissed off about something IN pageantry arts!!).

Anyway--this goes back several years, but in 1992, I was working security at Knott's Berry Farm, and was working my ass off in the fall teaching all over the place, designing shows, and then in the spring, announcing EVERY weekend for the WGASC. I had to make as much money as I could because at 9 bucks an hour, KBF wasn't cutting it. At the time, I was living in Placentia with Phil Mortensen, band director at Valencia HS (then) and now the district music supervisor. At the time (and I can't remember exactly when he took over) but Lee Carlson was the President of WGASC, or was about to become the President. Actually, at the time, I was Vice President of Contests for the association. In any event, was very familiar with Lee and worked with him. He called me out of the blue and said if I could take a judging gig for him in Washington State for the Puget Sound Band Championships--it was for visual. I had NEVER judged a day in my life, and of course, being Ryan H. Turner and sometimes honest to a fault, I spewed out as much to Lee on the phone and gave him a thousand reasons to find someone else.

He told me to shut up and I got the gig. Went up, was on a panel of people I didn't know except for 2 people...and that was Brad Pearson (who was writing music for VK at the time), and this really loud guy by the name of Michael Cesario. Yeah. THAT Michael Cesario. I had a blast!! It was so much fun. I was HOOKED on judging. I LOVED IT. For some reason, it wasn't "hard", but it was hard work. Does that make sense? But I reveled in it. LOVED it.

Fast forward a few years. I get married. My show design business takes a nose dive. Things then began to build back up, albeit slowly. Had some VERY disappointing projects and interactions with some directors (in reality, was VERY hurt a couple of times when some directors showed themselves to be completely ignorant of how to be business-like). I began to think that maybe drill designing, even though I loved THAT, wasn't something that I should pursue as much as I should pursue judging. So, I made it a goal. At the time, SCSBOA was DEAD SET against people like me coming in and judging ANY band caption--visual, GE, or music--even though I had been with the association since 1985 AND had some pretty good success (and some dismal failures). I decided that I would begin to get my name out NATIONALLY, and start promoting myself to be a qualified visual judge. And magically--through my own efforts, I ended up judging over the past 6 years in Missouri, Nevada, Washington, Arizona and Utah. I even was asked once to hire a crew and fly to Washington and be the Chief Judge for a show--all 30 days before the show was scheduled--because the guy that was supposed to do dropped the ball. So I was able to get a GREAT group together, including the Zeilinger brothers, Greg Flores, Robert Whitaker, Dale Leaman, Chad Kohlmier and Paul Locke...and off we all flew. There's a point...hang on!!

During this time--SCSBOA was starting to "relax" there strangle-hold on the stance they held that kept experts like me out of the band captions. I argued with people like Don Jaramillo and Don Gunderson about this. It was illogical to allow NON-CREDENTIALED percussion and guard people to judge, but keep people like me, who OBVIOUSLY was committed to southern California marching band, OUT. After some false starts and miscommunications, FINALLY, last season I trialed at 2 shows. And as they say, the rest is history.

Anyway--the short of this is that at the time I was obviously getting calls to do things across the country (heck--even George Hopkins was ready to hire me for the famous USSBA!!!) so my "going national" goal worked. But in my HEART, my goal was to get qualified for the SCSBOA. That had been a goal that was hampered NOT by a lack of talent or ability on my part, but a VERY long process that dealt with the culture of CHANGE in the SCSBOA. And as we can see, SCSBOA hasn't imploded with the inclusion of talent that may not be band directors. So the hidden "in my heart" goal has finally been realized, and as I had said so many years, I get to give my advice and opinion to more kids and directors at one time as an SCSBOA judge.

And it makes me strangely proud to start my tapes by saying, "Hello, this is Ryan H. Turner from the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association, and I'll be adjudicating you today in the area of Visual Performance." Thank you SCSBOA. I would say it's about time, but that's not the tone I want to take. I'd rather say thank you, I'm proud to be part of the team.

OK...that's it. I'm done. Sorry OCFA people. Don't have much more to say about work other than...KEEP DUMITRU UNDER CONTROL!!!

And Dumitru!!! MY BLOG IS UPDATED FOR GOD'S SAKES!!!